November 30, 1999 --

CHICAGO - Although GE Medical Systems has a commanding presence in the overall MRI market, the Waukesha, WI, vendor has found the open MRI segment a tough nut to crack. That may change with an impressive new open MRI scanner on display in GE's booth at this week's RSNA conference.

The new scanner is called Signa OpenSpeed, and was developed at a cost of more than $30 million. It features a 0.7-tesla superconducting magnet, a specification that should prove useful in the open-magnet wars. OpenSpeed will compete with Fonar's new 0.6-tesla Pinnacle and Toshiba's 0.35-tesla Opart in the super-competitive superconducting MRI scanner niche.

GE claims that OpenSpeed will enable imaging facilities to scan patients three times as fast as other open MRI scanners. The company said the magnet is available immediately, and predicted that 100 of the systems would be installed worldwide by the end of 2000.

GE unveiled the new system at a press conference in New York City on Nov. 17, in what was probably a well-timed effort to help the scanner rise above the crush of product introductions at the RSNA show. On hand were GE executives, such as president and CEO Jeffrey Immelt, as well as a number of luminary radiologists.